Commentary
By Jack Koenig

As the frustration level rose over the reckless parking behavior of a few contractors working in DMW, a few residents reached for the first remedy coming to mind: ban all parking on the streets of Del Mar Woods.

Unfortunately, this poorly thought out but well intentioned remedy would have been a total disaster had not the Township Supervisor modified it to restrict parking to only one side of our streets. As it stands now, it’s a disaster in the making.

No one seems to have considered those having numerous cars in their households. No one seems to have considered holidays when we have guests. And no one seems to have considered those occasions when we are having our drives repaired, or when we have workmen over, or any other number of similar occasions.

Before the ordinance was passed and written into law, I contacted the County Board to see if the building permit granting procedure could be modified to include a provision demanding parking spaces on properties under construction. The reasoning was simple: why should taxpayers foot the bill for repairing infrastructure damage caused by contractors? And secondly, why should homeowners be inconvenienced by nonresidents whose main objective is to turn a buck?

I was told by the County Board such a provision could be inserted into the permit granting process, but the request would have to be made at a County meeting. A letter I wrote on the subject was printed in the Deerfield Review (click HERE) with a copy sent to the West Deerfield Township Supervisor. Unfortunately, the Township ignored the suggestion and the rest is history.

Our roads are worse off than before, the shoulders on both sides are in shambles, others simply ignore the ordinance, and the safety of our children is put at risk. Many believe it’s time to revisit this onerous legislation and even have it repealed.  The ordinance has done nothing but aggravate an already aggravating situation.

To let us know your opinion, please click HERE

To return to the “Parking Ordinance” gateway page, click HERE

To return to the HOME page, click HERE

To leave a comment, click HERE